Wishful Thinking
by BornToBeAGingerArcher
Summary: Mabel learns that she should be careful what she wishes for.
**Genre:** Family, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, & (small bit of) Angst

 **Characters:** Stan, Ford, Dipper,  & Mabel. Later Soos, Wendy, Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica

 **Pairing:** Really minor Dipcifica

 **Word Count:** 1357 (Later chapters might be a little shorter)

The day dawned bright and warm over Gravity Falls, Oregon. Birds were chirping, rabbits were scurrying around, and a group of gnomes was stealing a cake from the local bakery. It seemed to be a normal day, if you could truly call _any_ day in this town normal.

At the Mystery Shack, Stan was preparing for the wave of customers that would soon arrive by gluing odd taxidermy parts together and labeling them. Dipper and Ford were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast and discussing about their adventures over the past year.

Ford had started a new journal after learning, much to his horror and disappointment, that Bill had destroyed the first three. Although nothing could be as weird and exciting as Gravity Falls, Dipper had found the occasional anomaly in Piedmont. He had been on pins and needles all school year waiting to share his notes with his uncle.

Just as Ford was telling Dipper about a fire-breathing dragoblin he found last week, Mabel shot into the room, her eyes as big as saucers.

"Oh no! She drank too much Mabel juice again! I'll go call the doctor." Dipper said.

"No, bro-bro! The whole town's having a yard sale! Imagine what cool crafting stuff I'll be able to find!"

"No offense Mabel, but I think you have more enough crafting supplies to last several lifetimes."

It was true. She had brought an entire suitcase full of yarn, glue, glitter, and the like.

"I've learned early on that you can never have too much glitter."

Dipper and Ford both held their tongues; arguing with Mabel would get them nowhere.

"So can I go, Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asked sweetly.

"I don't see why not."

"Yay!" Mabel cheered and ran in circles.

"On one condition. You have to bring your brother along with you."

"Awww, man. But I don't wanna go with her." Dipper whined.

"Pleeeeaaassseeeeeeee, Dipdop?" She pleaded, fluttering her eyelashes in a way she knew he could never resist.

"Fine." he sighed. "But you'll have to play DD & More D with Grunkle Ford and me later in exchange."

"Okay. But this time, you can't use the infinity-sided die. It's too early in the summer to go on another crazy adventure."

"Agreed."

They grabbed some money, said goodbye to their grunkles, and headed into town.

Although it was only nine a.m., the streets were already packed with people. Many of them waved and smiled at the kids; ever since Weirdmegeddon, the townsfolk had been friendlier to the Pines.

There were booths everywhere selling everything from clothes to furniture to elaborate sculptures.

The twins wandered for a while, checking out the different wares for sale. Eventually, Mabel left her brother as he was looking for a new mystery novel.

"Yarn, yarn, yarn. Where can I buy some yarn?"

Eventually she found herself in front of a rundown looking house. No one seemed to be selling anything, so after a minute, she began to walk away.

A short, weather-beaten looking man popped up from behind the table. Mabel thought he looked like an escaped mental patient.

"Hello there! Would you like to buy anything? Perhaps a watch?" The man pulled out a case full of watches of every size, shape, and quality.

"No thanks. I'm really just looking for some glitter and yarn."

"I don't have anything like that."

"Okay. I'm going to look somewhere else."

"Wait- wait. Maybe you'd like one of these lovely necklaces."

"Hmmmm." She looked over the necklaces. They were all beautiful, but none of them seem to be _her._

Finally, her eyes rested on a gold necklace with a large blue stone set in the middle.

"Perfect!" She squealed.

"Are you sure you want _that_ one? Owning it tends to have some… unintended consequences." He said hesitantly.

"Yes! How much is it?"

"For you, no charge!"

"Thanks! I promise to love it forever!"

She found her way back to her brother, who was still trying to find the perfect book.

"Hello!"

He jumped. "Mabel, you can't do that to a guy."

"Sorry. I'm just really happy!"

"Did you find what you wanted?"

"No, but I found something even better!" She waved the necklace in her brother's face.

"Woah, Mabel. Where did you find this?"

"There was this creepy looking guy selling watches and stuff in front a creepy house. Why?"

"It looks like something that was in Ford's old journal."

"Maybe we should go back and talk to that guy."

The younger Pines winded their way back through the town until they reached the place where Mabel had seen the mysterious man.

There was nothing there. Not only was the man gone without a trace, but so was the house.

"That's…. weird." Mabel said slowly as she looked around. "Maybe I'm dreaming. I'll just open my eyes and be lying in bed."

She closed her eyes and reopened them. Nothing.

"We should show that necklace to Ford when we get home. It could turn us into fish or liquefy our organs or turn the world inside-out."

"Calm down, bro. Nothing like that is going to happen."

When they got back, they could hear Stan and Ford arguing.

Dipper groaned. "Not this again."

"I can't believe you! The kids could've been injured, or worse!"

"Pfft. They're fine. Your dumb experiments put them in more danger than anything I've ever done." Stan countered.

"You were teaching Mabel how to drive."

"So?"

"SO? She's 13."

"So? Pop would take us driving when we were 13."

"Yes, but it was in deserted parking lots and he wouldn't tell us to drive 75 miles an hour."

"Well if she wasn't going that fast, the cops would've caught her."

"STANLEY! Do you even hear the words that are coming out of your mouth?"

"Well I'm sorry that not all of us can be Mr. Perfect like you!"

Ford merely glared at his twin and walked off.

Dinner was extremely tense. It was almost worse than last summer, before the elder Pines had reconciled. At least then they would talk to each other, even if it was yelling and insulting each other. Now it was so silent that one could almost hear a deer leaping through the woods.

"So. How was your day?" Mabel asked after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Well it was going fine until he began accusing me of puttin' you 'n Dipper in danger." Stan angrily jabbed his thumb at Ford.

"Now Grunkle Ford. Why would you say something like that?"

"Well maybe if he DIDN'T put you and your brother in danger, I wouldn't find a need to tell him." Ford said from between clenched teeth.

"I'm just trying to expose the kids to the real world. Maybe you should try it some time."

"STOP!"

Everyone turned to look at Mabel, who was red in the face and looked on the verge of tears.

" I-I thought this was done with. That you had finally put your differences aside. I just want you guys to get along. I miss be- being a- a family."

As soon as she was finished, Mabel bolted upstairs, sobbing miserably.

"Mabel, wait!" Dipper called after his sister.

When he came upstairs, he found her curled up on the floor, sweater pulled over her head.

"Will you come out of sweater town?" Dipper asked.

"Uh-uh." She said miserably

"Not even for Waddles?"

He lifted the pig up to her head, which was quite a feat considering how he had grown over the last year.

Mabel poked her head out, only for her cheek to be assaulted by Waddle's tongue.

She began giggling in spite of how broken-hearted she felt.

Mabel sighed unhappily, took Waddles into her arms, and flopped onto her bed. "I wish Stan and Ford would get along, like when they were younger. They seemed so happy." Waddles oinked in agreement as he cuddled by her side.

"As do I, Mabel. But there's not much we can do. You know how siblings can get on each other's nerves." Dipper said as he playfully punched his sister's arm.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," she sniffed. "G'night Dipper."

"Good night, Mabel."


End file.
